


Letters

by conceptofzero



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-19
Updated: 2013-12-19
Packaged: 2018-01-05 04:04:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,266
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1089409
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/conceptofzero/pseuds/conceptofzero
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The awakening of the Princess of Prospit may be the largest event of the year, but the Parcel Mistress still has a job to do.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Letters

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ThinkingCAPSLOCK](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThinkingCAPSLOCK/gifts).



PRINCESS AWAKENS, HOLDS COURT WITH THE QUEEN reads the headline. It’s more of a wake-up than her coffee, which sits mostly forgotten on the side of the kitchen table as she pours over the details and the photo with the princess floating over the city. It’s a little blurry but she can see her clear enough to wonder what it is around her head, and what she’s wearing on her face. The paper says that it’s not a hat, but hair, and PM leans back in her chair as that sinks in. Hair. How strange. 

“Are you done with it?” Assured Filer shakes PM out of her thoughts, setting a bowl beside her. It’s oatmeal and PM’s stomach growls at the sight of it. 

“Hm? Oh, of course.” PM would enjoy reading it again but she relinquishes it, knowing she can just borrow it back when AF’s done. And AF did make her a bowl of oatmeal, which was very considerate of her. It’s certainly better tasting than the ration bar PM was going to make do with this beforeshift. “You know the stuff on the Princess’s head? That’s hair.”

“Hair?” AF looks at the front page of the paper and sets it down, taking a sip from her own cup. “You learn something new every day. Do you mind picking up the rations today? There’s an inspection today and you know how those always run long.” 

“Sure, I’ll get them when I’m done with my rounds.” PM doesn’t mind picking the rations up. The line is always a little long, but as long as you remember to bring something to read, time goes by. And whoever picks up the rations usually gets to choose something from the box. AF always picks out the oatmeal, but she’s never too stingy about it. PM prefers the tin of mixed fruit. 

When AF finishes reading over the paper, PM takes one last look over the front page. The Princess awakening so early is a good omen, or so the paper says. Rumor has it that the Derse Prince is awake, but he never leaves his tower, so it may just be propaganda. Their Princess is really awake though, and that makes PM feel pretty pleased. 

She finishes her coffee and joins AF as they head out. Their timing is impeccable this shift-start, and just as they leave, they meet their other roommates returning home from their ships. Brisk Welder is covered in soot and oil, as per usual, and not for the first time, PM is thankful that she shares her room with the Reserved Carrier. RC may not be terribly friendly, but she is neat and tidy. AF has privately informed PM that BW has a nasty habit of not thoroughly washing before going to bed, and when AF uses their shared bunk during her rest period, it smells like a shipyard. 

BW tips her hat to them, unintentionally smearing a little oil along the brim. “PM, AF. They’ve closed 1392 Street from this block all the way to the Tower, so you’ll have to take another route to work.”

“Again? But they had 1391 and 1390 shut last week!” AF crosses her arms and sighs angrily. “What are they even doing down there?” 

“I heard they’re installing lighting for another farm.” PM does her best to calm AF down, bumping her shoulder into AF’s. “Think on the bright side. If they’re growing fresh produce down there, that means more for us in the ration box.” 

“It better, or I’m going to write a very strongly worded letter to the paper.” She probably will. PM doesn’t see the appeal personally. It does make for fun reading though, especially in the aftershift when they’ve had a few glasses of wine. They leave their roommates for the time being, knowing they’ll meet up with them again during the shift switch. 

With 1392 shut down, they part ways early, AF grabbing a shuttle headed for the tower while PM heads upward and takes the skybridge to the Postal Depo. It’s a busy day and PM doesn’t even have time to greet her fellow mail carriers before she’s handed a bag heavy with mail. The Engaged Director gives PM a quick set of instructions, already grabbing another sack of mail for the person behind PM. “Land of Light and Rain, take the transportalizer on the fifth floor. Do not use the ones on this level, there’s an hour wait for them.” 

“Oh, thank you!” PM slips the strap over her head and left shoulder, doing as the clerk suggests and heading back down the depo’s stairs. If the main transportalizers are clogged, then the others are going to be slowed down too and she wants to be out of here before that happens. After all, she did promise AF she would grab the rations and she can’t do that if she wastes an hour of delivery time standing in line. 

On her way down, she passes some other carriers she knows, exchanging quick smiles and waves as they jog by. They look as busy as her and she suspects there isn’t much time for anyone to visit today. PM wonders what’s with the influx of mail. Hopefully when she delivers it, she’ll get an idea. 

The line-up for the transportalizers on the fifth floor is fifteen minutes. PM tries to curb her impatience at this inconvenience by reminding herself of the hour wait above her head. She’s usually a… well, not a very patient person, but pretty patient. But once she’s got a mailbag on her back, all she can think about is getting those letters delivered. It’s like an itch in her brain and the more she stands in line, the worse it gets. 

“-she really bow to the Princess?” There’s a conversation happening ahead of her that PM is attempting to politely ignore, but she can’t help but eavesdrop a little. “What did she say?”

“If you can believe this, the Princess actually bowed back. Though it wasn’t a bow, it was uh… Um. Oh shoot, it was this.” The fellow takes hold of his tunic and holds it slightly out as he bends at the knees. “That thing.” 

“A curtsy.” PM volunteers, hoping they don’t mind her adding to the conversation. 

The curtsying carrier smiles and nods. “That’s it, she curtsied! She’s very well mannered you know. That’s what my roommate says anyway. He’s so lucky. He’s a transcriber, so he gets to sit in on all the Queen’s sessions.” 

“He’s very lucky.” PM says and they all nod with agreement. Not that she would ever want a job other than delivering mail, but it would be nice if her job had her spend more time around their beloved monarch. PM has never met her, only seen her from a distance and heard her speeches over the fenestrated wall in her home. She hopes that one day, one of her mailbags will be for the Towers and she might get a chance to pass through the White Queen’s throne room. Of course, she could go anytime she likes, but PM feels that it would be rude to intrude on the Queen’s space, especially when there is nothing of importance she needs. 

The time passes faster when the three of them talk and before long, it’s her turn. PM climbs onto the transportalizer pad and braces herself. She’s gotten better at it over the years, but her heart always skips a beat when the pad activates and she feels her body pulled through space and deposited elsewhere in a flash. PM gets off the pad and beelines to the nearest pillar, resting against the stable cool marble for a moment while she collects herself. Maybe one day, she won’t be bothered by that anymore. She’s hopeful. 

There are a lot of letters today and only a few parcels. PM takes her time navigating the islands of the Land of Light and Rain, delivering envelope after envelope to an endless assortment of turtles. They seem to be mostly confused by the letters but PM feels satisfied as she hands each pink-shelled creature a letter, leaving them to read them or perhaps eat them if they feel inclined. Normally, destroying the mail would send PM into a fit of anger, but once a letter’s delivered to the recipient, they can do as they wish with it. 

It’s a lovely day in the the Land of Light and Rain. The colourful waters swirl as the soft rains fall on them. PM doesn’t mind wandering through the rain, though she does have to keep a careful eye on her mailbag to make sure the opening stays folded between deliveries. There’s nothing worse than handing someone a soggy letter and knowing you’ve failed them. Other than that small concern, she enjoys her trips over the islands and the ferries running between them. PM has her lunch on one of those longer ferry trips, eating her rations while watching the waters lick at the chalky shorelines. 

She’s lucky and she knows it. Most other Prospitians will never leave Prospit, not until the Great War comes to pass. But PM’s been to every planet. She’s walked Heat and Clockwork’s catwalks and seen the lava broil beneath them, and she knows the desolate paths of Wind and Shade. Light and Rain would be her favorite if she hadn’t seen Frost and Frogs and spent time walking those magnificent frozen jungles. It’s a cold place there, but she feels fond of it and all those flowers blooming eternally within the ice. 

As she makes her way through a third of her mailbag, and then another third, she thinks she understands what the letters are. Though they list no sender and are in plain envelopes, they go to nearly every turtle she meets and the addresses are entirely clear and complete, which is a rare occurrence for letters going out to the Lands. Though she doesn’t stay around to watch anyone read their letters, she becomes certain they’re of a bureaucratic nature. Maybe they’re the results of the many censuses that seem to be almost constantly occurring, or maybe it’s a proclamation of the awakening of the Princess of Prospit. PM feels certain that when she returns home aftershift, she’ll find a letter of her own waiting there. 

When her mailbag is nearly empty, PM discovers an unexpected letter inside. When she pulls it out, there’s a moment when she doesn’t read it properly and her mind tries very hard to think of where there might be a tower on Light and Rain. Then she reads it again and realizes that it’s not meant for the Lands - it’s a Prospit delivery mistakenly placed in her bag. It’s a Tower delivery, addressed to the White Queen. 

She stops dead as it sinks in. A delivery like this isn’t meant to be in PM’s bag. It was probably put here by accident and someone else is worrying that they lost this letter somewhere along the way. She runs it between her fingers and thumb, wondering if she should return it to the mail depot or just deliver it herself. It’s late enough in her shift that taking it back to the depo might mean it won’t be delivered for another day. And… well. It is in her bag. When is she ever going to get another chance to visit the Queen’s court? 

PM delivers the rest of her letters first, though she can hardly focus on the task at hand. As soon as the last letter is presented to the last turtle (a wizened old thing with a beard that only catches PM’s attention because she remembers that a beard is hair, like what the woken Princess has, and she watches the way it moves until it becomes clear she’s being rude and making the turtle uncomfortable), she finds the first ferry heading back to the main island. 

The route to the palace takes her past the rations line, which is already beginning to fill up. Another person might be tempted to get in line now and deliver the letter afterwards, but PM takes her duties very seriously. Rations can wait. She continues towards the Tower to finish her daily deliveries. 

It’s late enough in the shift that there’s no line to enter the Tower. All PM has to do is scan her wrist and once her barcode checks out, she’s able to pass by the guards and head up the stairs. She feels a little nervous as she climbs the stairs, pausing to scan her barcode as she heads deeper into high security areas. Postal workers have access to nearly everywhere in order to do their duties, but she hasn’t tested how deep that access goes. With each new scan, she finds herself slightly worried that the lights will flash to black instead of white and she’ll be forced to turn back, but it never happens. Each glowing light beckons her onward and upwards until she reaches the throne room floor. PM stops to compose herself, straightening out her uniform and adjusting her hat to look proper, and then strides toward the throne room. 

It’s a large room, easily as big as the whole floor of her apartment building. It’s very uncommon to see such a large open area on Prospit, but she supposes that if anyone can afford to have this much space unused, it’s the Queen. A lush red carpet leads toward the Queen’s throne and PM enjoys the way her feet sink into it as she approaches her Majesty. But… the throne’s empty. The White Queen isn’t there. 

PM’s heart sinks a little. She was really hoping the Queen would be on her throne, and PM could present her with the letter and… well, PM hadn’t thought much further than that. There probably wouldn’t have been anything other than a quick greeting and the exchange of the letter, but it would have been something. Now there’s nothing but the empty throne, squatting in the middle of the room.

She digs the letter out of her mailbag. PM’s not sure if it’s safe to put the letter on the throne and leave it. While she doubts anyone here would touch it, it’s not the proper way. A mail carrier puts a letter in a mail box. They don’t just abandon it. She glances around until she spots a doorway on the far side of the room. Maybe there’s an agent in there who can tell PM where to leave the letter. She heads around the throne and jogs slightly toward the door, knocking on it briefly before swinging the door open. “Excuse me, but I have a letter for the Queen-”

“Hellooooo!” The voice is very young and excited. PM looks ahead and blinks. There’s the Princess in here. And she looks so different when she’s up close. There’s a lot of hair coming out of her head and it’s dark and heavy looking, and PM raises a hand to touch before she realizes how rude she’s being and quickly draws it back. The Princess laughs, grinning. “Everyone keeps trying to touch my hair! Do you want to?”

“N-no I’m good, thank you, Princess. I’m sorry.” PM feels unbearably rude. She really shouldn’t do that. Or gawk. She’s gawking. It’s just… the Princess is so strange looking. She’s got flat teeth and when she smiles, PM can see that the middle two are bigger than the rest. Why is that? She’s also got white eyes, but there’s something green in the middle, and she’s got glasses on. PM wouldn’t have expected a Princess to have anything less than perfect sight. She wonders if the Prince needs glasses as well. She shakes herself out of her thoughts, holding up the letter. “I’m looking for the Queen. I have a letter for her.” 

“She was here but a bunch of people came to talk to her so she had to leave. It’s something about the other planet. It sounded pretty interesting but she asked me to wait here instead.” The Princess looks at the letter and holds out her hand. “I can give it to her!”

PM hesitates. The letter’s for the Queen. It should be delivered to the Queen. But… it feels wrong to deny the Princess anything. After a moment of deliberation, she hands the letter to the Princess. “Please make sure it reaches her.” 

“I will. What’s your name? I’m Jade.” She extends a hand. PM reaches out to shake it, suprised by how smooth her shell is. There aren’t even any segments around her knuckles or wrist. Maybe it’s not a shell? She thinks back to the salamanders that live on Wind and Shade. It’s called skin? She’s careful not to squeeze too tight, worried that she might accidentally hurt the girl. 

“My name is Parcel Mistress. It’s an honor to meet you, Princess Jade.” PM lets go of the girl’s hand and does a hasty bow, remembering a little too late to do that. At least Jade seems amused by the way she laughs and curtseys. “You’ve woken up early. That’s a very good omen you know.” 

“Is it? It’s good for me too. I’ve been all by myself for so long. And now there are people everywhere and they all want to talk with me!” She smiles so brightly, but there’s something about her words that make PM sad. Why was she alone? She’s so small. Jade carries on, talking very quickly. “Being a princess is pretty exciting! The Queen says she’s going to hold a ball in my honor! I really hope I can stay asleep for all of it.” 

PM doesn’t understand why she would want to miss her own ball, but it’s not her place to make such comments to a Princess, so she just smiles instead. "I hope you're able to make it. I hear the balls are grand affairs."

"You should come! You can wear a nice dress and dance with everyone! Do you think they'll mind if I don't? I haven't had any practice at it. Bec is wonderful but dogs don't know anything about dancing or manners or any of this princess stuff." Jade sighs, sounding much wearier than PM would expect someone so young to sound. She's still just a little girl. 

"Thank you for the invitation Princess, but I'll be working that shift." Or sleeping, depending on what shift the ball is set in. Its still very kind of her though. It gives PM hope to see that Prospit's princess has a good heart. Perhaps with her, the future seen in the clouds will be a good one, despite what some claim to have seen. PM has glanced now and then when delivering to the Battlefield and she still understands very little about what she's seen. Parcels mostly, and once a bloody stream that haunted her for days afterwards. 

Jade seems somewhat disappointed, but before she can ask again, there is the soft sound of a throat clearing. PM turns and feels her tongue turn to stone. It's the Queen. She's so beautiful- no, she's more than just that. There is no perfect word, only partials that capture parts of her. She's... elegant. Captivating. Fearsome. Regal. The list goes on endlessly in PM's head as she bends at the knee to her kingdom's most glorious monarch. Jade is somewhat less awestruck. "Are things okay now with the planet?"

"For the moment. Rise," The White Queen commands and PM does so. The urge to fall back on her knees is overwhelming. How can anyone manage to stay in her presence for long and get anything accomplished? Palace workers must be made of sterner stuff than her. "Come to see the Princess?"

PM composes herself before she speaks, not wanting to stumble over her words. "I am the Parcel Mistress. I am here to deliver a letter."

"It's right here!" Jade offers the envelope to the Queen. There's a smile on her face, more mischievous than before. "You should open it now."

WQ arches an eyebrow. PM isn't sure what's going on, but she's interested to find out what's inside. Still, she prepares to leave in case the Queen chooses to dismiss her. It seems that won't be the case as she brings one sharp finger to bear against the spine and neatly slits it open, withdrawing the letter. It's folded in three parts and the Queen carefully unfolds it. PM sees the green writing on the paper and thinks of Jade's green eyes. Are they the same colour? The Queen seems amused by whatever she’s reading, a faint smile on the corners of her lips. “You could have just given this to me.” 

“I could have, but I didn’t!” Jade laughs and PM is honestly confused for a moment, wondering what it is she’s missing. Then it hits her: the letter is from Jade. That’s why the writing is green and why WQ seems so amused. The Princess’ happiness is contagious and PM can’t help but smile. She wants to talk to Jade and ask her if she sends many letters, to encourage her to keep sending them always so maybe PM can come visit again. But she keeps that to herself, not wanting to rudely intrude. 

Though she’s done with her duties for the day, she promised AF that she would pick up the rations, and it’s a good idea to go before she overstays her welcome. They’ve both tolerated her presence and PM wants to go while they still have good feelings.

She takes her leave, giving the Queen and Princess another bow before leaving, clutching her empty mail sack to her chest. PM feels like she’s floating, barely aware of the buzz of the city around her. This was more than she could have ever imagined. She’s so glad the letter ended up in her bag. She might not ever speak to either of them again but that’s okay. It was enough just speak to them the once. 

PM joins the ration line, already wrapping around the block, and she barely notices the time go by as her mind keeps returning to the Tower and the way the Princess looked when she laughed. Her feet shuffle forward in time with the line and she smiles to herself. What will AF say when PM tells her? She’ll be excited, maybe even a little jealous, but she’ll be happy for PM, just like PM would be happy for her if things were reversed. 

There’s the sound of someone complaining at the front of the line. PM’s shaken out of her thoughts by it and she cranes her head to see what’s going on. Someone seems upset with the contents of their ration kit. The whole line seems to sigh with annoyance at the hold up.

“What an idiot.” The woman in front of PM glances back at her, venting under her breath. “Is he trying to get noticed? He should have just been happy that he was getting anything at all.” 

“What is he upset about? I missed what started it.” She watches as the Ration Officer opens a few other kits and the upset man glances between them and his own kit. It must be enough to mollify him because the upset man gives up and walks off with his rations. Relief sweeps through the crowd and the mood lightens again as the line starts to move once more.

“He thought other people were getting more than him. Moron. As if they’d make the mistake of handing out special favours to people who have to wait in line.” The woman crosses her arms, her mouth twisting. Then she stops suddenly, taking another look at PM. “You’re the Swift Courier, right?”

“No, the Parcel Mistress.” That would explain this woman’s candor. She didn’t realize she was talking to a stranger. PM’s expecting them to laugh about this together, maybe exchange names. But she seems to go an even paler shade of white and she steps out of line. Before PM can say much more than “Hey, wait-”, the woman’s gone, faded back into the crowd. The disappearance leaves her feeling a little uneasy. What was that about? Did she think PM was going to report her? The things she was saying were pretty rude but… rudeness wasn’t a crime.

At least it makes the line shorter, and within twenty minutes, she’s got their rations parcel tucked under her arm. It does feel a little lighter than usual, but PM shrugs it off. Things will be better when those new farms are up and running. Hopefully, they’ll grow some fruit downstairs so it can show up more steadily in the rations. That would be lovely. 

She has time to drop off her mailbag and still arrive home before AF. BW and RC are gone, but when PM goes into her room, she finds the bed is still warm from RC. She changes the bedding back to her own set, tempted to take a brief nap while she waits for AF. It’s been a long day. But a cool bed will be better for sleeping in and she leaves it be while she unpacks the rations.

The tin of fruit is cherries. PM sits out on the balcony and eats it, watching Skaia sweep across the eastern edge of Prospit. Today was a good day. It doesn’t matter if she never has another day like it again, she’ll have memories to keep her happy for a lifetime.


End file.
